Circular-knitting machine



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1,

W. D.'BUTZ.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

. m u n Patented Aug. 13, 1889.

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(No Moqlel.) v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. D. BUTZ.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No, 408,952. Patnted Aug. 13. 1889.

I u iillmlmlm 1 5V M Inventor:

WaZt0rJ. Bzd/z Md 7 Mfl/M N. PETERS, Pmn-mmn w. \Muhinginl. u c

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3. W. D. BUTZ. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 408,952. Patented Aug. 13, 1889..

Witnesses Jrwenfior ,3 1 WaZZerIJwZZ SI 5y hds 1/7 ttorneys My M7 N. PETERS, Phnhrulhngmphen Wilhlnglnn. D C- (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

' W. D. BUTZ.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 408,952. Patented Aug; 13, 1889.

N. PETER$ mmmumo m w, Washinglufl. D a

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

W. D. BUTZ.-

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Aug. 13,. 1889.

6y itter-megs I I: walfiar Q I 0 Q G 0 G fi m WtnOsse-s I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YVALTER D. BUTZ, OF NORRISTO\VN, PENNSYLVANIA.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,952, dated August 13, 1889.

Application filed October 16, 1888. $erial No. 288,115. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, XVALTER D. BUTZ, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Norristown, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a specification. I

The object of my invention is to construct a knitting-machine in which the various operations necessary for the formation of a .heel or toe pocket upon the knitted tube will be performed automatically; and this object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a knitting-ma- I chine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on the line 1 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the machinewith parts of the same broken away to show the construction of the parts beneath; and Figs. 4 to 17 are detached Views illustrating details of the machine not clearly illustrated in the other figures.

The main or fixed frame 1 of the machine has suitable depending bearings 2 -for the driving-shaft 3, which has at one end pulleys 4 and 5, secured to the shaft, and an intermediate loose pulley 6. v.

To the shaft 3 is secured a spur-wheel 7, which meshes into a pinion 8 on a shaft 9, adapted to suitable bearings in the frame 1, said shaft also having a bevel-pinion 10, which gears into a bevel-wheel 11, carried by thecam-cylinder 12 of the machine, the cams of which are shown in elevation in Fig. 15, the needle-cylinder 13 being carried by the fixed frame 1 of the machine so as to have no movement of rotation therein,but being held in position by a bolt 14, Fig; 3, so that it can be released and withdrawn when it is desirable to insert a new cylinder. The shaft 3 is also provided with a bevel-wheel 15, which mesheswith a pinion 16 on a transverse counter-shaft 17, said counter-shaft carrying a Worm 18, which drives a worm-wheel 19 on a shaft- 20, parallel with the driving-shaft and having at its outer end a chain-wheel 21.

Mounted on the shaft 20, so as to turn freely thereon, isa notched disk 22 and a ratchetwheel 23 secured to said disk, the wheel being actuated by a pawl 24, which is operated by an eccentric 25 at the outer end of the driving-shaft 3. (See Fig. 4.)

The machine is adapted to be driven by two belts from a suitable primary shaft parallel with the shaft 3, one of the belts being straight and the other crossed, and in the regular operation of the 1nachine-that is to say, when it is producing continuous tubular fabricthe straight belt is adapted to one of the pulleyssay to the pulley 4 of the drivingshaft 3and the crossed belt is adapted to the loose pulley 6, these belts being under control of yokes 26 on a belt-shifting-rod 27, adapted to slide in the hangers 2 of the machine. V

The belt-shifting rod has a pin 28,which is acted on by one arm of a lever 29, hung to a stud 30 on the frame 1, the other arm of said lever being under control of the notched disk 22. The shifter-rod is also acted on by a spring 3l,which tends to move it in a direction opposite that of the movement imparted by the lever 29.

When the machine is producing continuous tubular work, the pawl 24 rests on a long tooth 32 of the ratchet-wheel 23, and consequently no movement is imparted thereto or to the notched disk 22, which then occupies the position shown in Figs. 1 to 3, and acts upon the lever 29 so as to hold the same and the belt-shifter rod 27 in the position shown in Fig. 1. ous tubular fabric has been knitted, however, and it is desired to form a heel or toe pocket upon the knitted tube, a suitable protuberance 196 upon the pattern-chain 197, carried by the wheel 21, strikes a pin 33 on the disk 22, and moves the same and the ratchet-wheel 23 to such an extent that the long tooth 32 is withdrawn from beneath the pawl 24, and the latter thus acts upon the ratchet-wheel to impart intermittent movements thereto and to the notched disk 22. These movements are in extent equal to the circumferential distance between the crown of one tooth of the disk and the base of the adjacent notch, so that as the disk is intermittently moved a vibrating movement will be imparted to the lever 29, and the belt-shifting rod 27 will be moved in its guides, so as to first apply the crossed belt to the pulley 5 and the straight belt to the loose pulley 6 of the driving-shaft,

N hen the desired length of continuand then to apply the straight belt to the pulley t and the crossed belt to the pulley l3, movements in opposite directions being thereby imparted to the shaft 3 and a back-andforth reciprocation transmitted to the camcylinder 12 of the machine, the teeth and notches of the disk 22 being so proportioned that each of these movements shall be to the extent of but one revolution of the drivingshaft and cam-cylinder in either direction. These movements continue until the ratchetwheel and notched disk have made a complete revolution, whereupon the long tooth 32 is again interposed beneath the pawl, and the operations of the ratchet-wheel and notched disk are arrested with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1that is to say, in position for the continuous rotation of the cameylinder and the production of continuous tubular work, the parts remaining in this position until a second stud or projection on the pattern-chain carried by the wheel 21 strikes the pin of the disk 22, and again moves the long tooth of the ratchet-wheel 23 from beneath the pawl 21 to permit a further operation of said ratchet-wheel by the pawl, in the manner above described.

It should be understood that the lug carried by the pattern-chain on the wheel 21 moves the pin 33 to such an extent before the continuous forward movement of the machine is stopped that said lug will not subsequently prevent the pin 33 from advancing to such position as to bring the long tooth 32 of the ratchet 23 under the pawl 24 when the disk 22 has completed its rotation. In other words, there is such a forward movement of the pin by the lug from the position of rest before the continuous forward movement is stopped that when the disk 22 has completed its rotation the position of rest of the pin 33 will be directly in the rear of the lug on the pattern-chain.

011 the shaft 20 is another chain-wheel 35, which carries a pattern-chain 36, having a lug or projection 37 for operating upon acatch 38, which retains a belt-shifting rod 3!), the latter acting, through any suitable mechanism, upon the belt or clutch which drives the primary shaft of the machine, so that when it is released the belt will be shifted and said primary shaft will be stopped, so as to stop the machine, this operation being resorted to when it is desired to remove the needle-cylinder 13 and insert a new one.

The belt-shifter rod 39 can be restored to position to engage with the catch 38 by means of a lever 40, the pivot-pin 41 of which is adapted to a slot i2 in the hanger 43, so that said lever is free to move longitudinally in its bearings, and can also be used for stopping the machine, a lug 13 on the lever engaging with the catch 38 to withdraw the same and permit the release of the shifter-rod 39.

In changing from the continuous rotary movement to the reciprocating movement for the production of a heel or toe pocket upon the knitted tube it is necessary to first throw a number of the needles-say half of the needles around the head-out of action, and then to gradually lessen the number of needles remaining in action around the other half of the head by throwingout the end necdle of the set, first at one end and then at the other, and after a certain number of needles at each end of the set have thus been thrown out of action to gradually bring them into action again, one after another, until all the needles of the set are again acting, whereupon the needles around the otherhall' of the head are again thrown into action, and the knitting of continuous tubular work is proceeded with.

The needles are thrown out of action by being lifted in the needle-cylinder so as to carry their bits out of range of the cams of the cam-cylinder 12, and supposing that the needles are arranged as shown in the diagram, Fig. 5-that is to say, with the needles from m to :r' to be thrown out of action simu1- taneously, the needles from w to y and from a" to y to be thrown out of action and brought into action in succession, and the needles from 3/ to y to remain in action continually-- then said needles from y to y will be provided with single bits, as shown in Fig. 0, for engaging with the cams of the cam-cylinder 12, while the needles from no to :1," will have double bits, as shown in Fig. 7, the upper bits engaging with the cams of the cam-cylinder 12 and the lower bits engaging with the cams of the cam-cylinder 45, Fig. 17, below the same, while the needles from m to 1 and from at to y will, as shown in Fig. 8, have bits for engaging with the cams of the cylinder 12 and notched jacks 16 for engaging with levers 4E7, pivoted to segmental. bearing-bars l8 on the fixed frame 1, there being one of these levers for each needle of the set which is to be first thrown, out of action and then brought into action again.

In order to provide for the automatic operation of the cam-cylinder 45, whereby the needles from 00 to a" are simultaneously elevated or thrown out of action, said cam-cylinder has a stud or projection 50,in which is guided a spring-actuated bolt 51, Fig. 2, the upper end of which is adapted to engage with an opening in the under side of the bevel-wheel 11, which drives the cam-cylinder 12.

'hen the machine is rotated continuously, and is producing continuous tubular work, however, the bolt 51 is free from engagement with the wheel 11 and occupies a position directly above a rod 52, guided in suitable bearings on the fixed frame of the machine, and resting at its lower end upon a ring 53, Fig. 9, this ring having a cam 54, and being connected to a rod 55, which passes through suitable bearings on the frame and is acted upon by a spring 56, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the outer end of the rod extending to the inner face of the notched disk 22. In

this disk is a cam-recess 57, as shown in Fig. 10, and by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and while the machine is producing tubular work the outer end of the rod rests in this recess. The first effect of the movement of the disk 22, therefore, is to cause the cam-wall of the recess to press back the rod 55, the latter being thus moved in such a way as to bring the cam 54 beneath the rod 52, and thus elevate the bolt 51, so that its upper end will engage with the recess in the under face of the bevel-wheel 11, the cam-cylinder 45 being thereby locked to the bevel-wheel and caused to rotate with the same. V

On the fixed frame of the machine, beneath the cam-ring 45, is a segmental cam 58, Fig. 11, and the lower end of the bolt 51 passes fromv the upper end of the lifter-rod 52 onto this cam, which extends half-way around the head, so that the bolt 51 will be caused to remain engaged with the bevelwheel 11 and lock the cam-ring 4:5 thereto until a half-turn of said cam-ring has been effected, whereupon the bolt will leave the elevated portion of the annular cam 58 and release the cam-ring 45 from the control of the bevel-wheel 11 after one-half of the needles of the head have been lifted by said ring so as to be free from the control of the cams of the ring 12. I

In order to effect the retraction of the camring 45, so as to draw down the needles into operative position again when it is desired to resume the production of continuous tubular work, the ring 53 has, diametrically opposite from the cam 54, a similar cam 60 for acting upon a lifting-rod 61, so that by the time'the notched disk 22 has made a complete revolution and the cam-recess 57 is again in line with the end of the rod the ring 53 will be again moved to a slight extent, but in a direction the reverse of its former movement, so as to cause its cam 60 to act on the liftingrod 61, and thus lift the bolt 51 up to the level of the cam 58 and cause it to again engage with the bevel-wheel 11, this being done just at the time that said bevel-wheel is making its last backward movement prior to the continued forward rotation of the machine, the final movement of the disk 22 restoring the parts to the positions shown in Figs. 1,2, and 3.

In order to provide for the successive operation of the needle-lifting levers 47, I employ two annular cams 62 and G3-one for acting on the levers at one side of the ma chine and the other for acting 011 the levers at the opposite side of the machine-and to provide for the intermittent rotation of these cams I employ a lever 64, hung at its lower end to a stud on one of the hangers 2 of the machine and vibrated by means of an eccentric 65, Fig. 10, on a shaft 66, which derives movement from the shaft 3 through the medium of a spur-pinion 67 and spur-wheel 68.

The upper end of the lever 64 carries two three-armed pawls 70 and 71, the central upwardly-projecting arm of each pawl beingacted 011 by a \l-headed spring-actuated bolt 72, guided. in the upper end of the lever 64, and the right and left'arms of the pawl 70 being adapted to act upon rack-teeth formed upon the upper edge of the segmental cam 62, while the right and left arms of the pawl 71 are adapted to act upon similar rack-teeth upon the upper edge of the cam 63. One arm of each of the pawls 70 and 71 has a depending rod 7 3, to be acted upon by a cam 7 4 on the inner face of the disk 22, and when the disk is stationary and the machine is producing continuous tubular fabric these rods are under the influence of the cams and are caused to assume the intermediate or inoperative position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

011 thefirst movement of the notched disk 22, however, the effect of the cams is to move oneof the arms of the pawl 7 0 into engagement with the rack of the cam 62, and the opposite arm of the pawl 71 into engagement with the rack of the cam 63, the spring-presser holding the pawls in this position, as shown in Fig. 10, so that as the lever 64L is vibrated in one direction one pawl acts to move one of the cams to the right, while as the lever is vibra ted in the opposite direction the other pawl acts to move the other cam to the left, the movement in each case being to the extent of the distance between the outer ends of the needle-operating levers 47. The levers 17 will be operated in succession, commencing at the outermost lever of each set, so as'to successively act upon the outermost needles of the acting set and throw them out of action.

In Fig. 12, which shows part of one of the cams 62 63 projected on a flat plane, it will be seen that the inclined portion of the cam-slot is just equal in extent to the distance between two of the levers 4:7, and it being understood that each movement of the cam is to a like extent, it follows that the levers will be operated in succession, as set forth. When all of the levers have been thus operated upon, the acting arm of each pawl is drawn up onto a high tooth of each rack, asshown in Fig. 13, and the pawls are thus shifted, so that their upper arms are carried beyond a central vertical line, whereupon the movement is continued by the action of the springpresser 72 and the opposite arm of-each pawl is thrown into action,'so that the vibration of the lever 64 now effects a movement of the cams 62 and 63 in a direction the reverse of that before imparted, so that the needle-operating levers' are successively operated, beginning at the inner end of each set, and the needles are successively drawn down into action again, this movement continuing until all of the needles of the set have been drawn into action, by which time the disk 22 will have completed a full revolution, and the cams 74: will act upon the rods 7 3 of the pawls, so

as to again restore the latter to the mid or inoperative position, shown in Figs. 1 and 2. (See Fig. 16.)

By the use of the radiating levers 17 I am enabled to use operating-cams of such diame' ter and having inclines of suchlength as to be easy of ascent, so that the wear upon the parts and the power necessary to move the same are reduced to a minimum, and excessive accuracy in the construction and operation of the parts is renderedunnecessary, so that the machine is not likely to be deranged by the comparatively unskilled labor to which such machines are sometimes intrusted in knitting-mills.

It is not necessary that each of the cams 62 (33 should be a complete annulus, as a segmental eam of proper extent could be used; but the annular form of cam is preferred as being more substantial.

The spring on the belt-shifter rod may be dispensed with and a positive movement in both directions imparted to said rod, if desired, by providing the rod with two pins, between which the arm of the lever 25) fits, (see Fig. 1-t;) but in such case the cam portion of the disk 22 should be in the form of a slot instead of a peripheral cam-surface, as shown, so as to control the lever 29 positively in both directions.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of the vertical needlecylinder and its needles, the cam-cylinderand its cams for operating the needles, radiating levers acting upon the needles to lower and raise them in the vertical grooves of the nee die-cylinder into and out of operative position, segmental cams for operating'the radiating levers, and means for intermittently moving said cams and operating the cameylinder, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the needle-cylinder and its needles, the cam-cylinder and its cams for actuating the needles, means for operating said cam-cylinder, radiating levers for acting upon the needles to throw them into and outof operative position, segmental cams for acting on said levers, a vibrating lever having duplex pawls, and racks carried by the lever-operatin g cams and acted on by said pawls, said racks havinghigh teeth for effecting the automatic shifting of the pawls, substantially as specified.

The combination of the needle-cylinder and its needles, the cam-cylinder having cams for acting on said needles, means for operating said cam-cylinder, radiating levers acting on the needles to throw them into and out of operative position, segmental cams for operating said levers, pawl-and-rack mechanism for operating said cams, and a rotating disk having cams for acting on the pawls to throw them into operative and inoperative position, all substantially as specified.

l. The combination of the needle-cylinder and its needles, the cam-cylinderhavin g cams for acting on said needles, means for operating said cam-cylinder, a supplementary camcylinder acting on a portion of the needles, a belt for locking the main cam-cylinder and the supplementary cam-cylinder together, a cam fol-holding said bolt in the locking position, lifters for acting on the bolt to move it into the locking position, cams for operating said lifters, and means for actuating said cams, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the driving-shaft oi the machine having outer fast pulleys and intermediate loose pulleys, the duplex beltshifter, a lever for operating saidbelt-shifter, a notched disk for acting on said lever, and meansfer intermittently moving said disk, all substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 11 amc to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER D. BUTZ.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM I). CONNER, HARRY SMITH. 

